Process for increasing soluble dietary fiber content of soybean meals

Fermentation, high-pressure homogenization, and steam cooking were used to increase the soluble dietary fiber (SDF) content of soybean meals. Effects of fermentation time, homogenization pressures, and cooking temperatures and time on the soluble dietary fiber content were investigated. Results show that SDF content is increased about 15% by fermentation, 20% by steam cooking, and 10%-28% by high-pressure homogenization. SDF content increases from 24.92% to 31.49% within 2-6 days of fermentation. There is a less increase of SDF content after the 6th day of fermentation. The content of SDF is increased with the increase of homogenization pressures. SDF content is significantly increased with the increase of cooking temperatures up to 121°C and cooking time within 20 min. Cooking soybean meals at 121°C for 20 min is the suitable conditions to obtain a good source of SDF.